Basketball: Junior High Girls’ Finish Season On High Note (12/20/15)
The Clarion Area Junior High Girls’ Basketball Teams concluded their season on Friday (December 18th). Coach Dave Constantino shares this summary and concluding thoughts:
(Photos by Kim Constantino) Coach Constantino with Coach Bevevino instructing the team before a game.
EIGHTH GRADE GAME: CLARION 25 – CLARION-LIMESTONE 15
Clarion stormed out to a 15-0 lead and never looked back en route to a 25-15 season ending victory over their cross-town rivals Friday afternoon (December 18th). The young Cats have played extremely well over the past two weeks and finished the season with a record of 6-8. Pretty impressive considering they have only 2 8th graders on the team and usually play teams with 9th, 8th, and 7th graders on them. Kaitlyn Constantino led the way for the Lady Cats with 11 points and was followed closely behind by Ava Cherico’s 8 points. Kyara Girvan had four points and Maria Bradley finished with 2 points for Clarion.
(It was a great total team victory and awesome way to end the season. (See concluding thoughts at end of 7th grade summary.)
KK Girvan putting up a shot against Forest Area
SEVENTH GRADE GAME: CLARION-LIMESTONE 23 – CLARION 2
Clarion-Limestone jumped on Clarion early and often and defeated the Lady Cats 23-2 to conclude their season. The final score of this game was not an indication of how hard these girls have played this year and how far they have come. Hannah Hazlett scored the two points for Clarion. C-L’s fast guards wreaked havoc with Clarion all afternoon and did a nice job of setting up easy baskets for the Lady Lions.
Kaitlyn Constantino putting in a shot against Forest Area
COACH CONSTANTINO’S SEASON CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
As the season comes to a close, I just want to conclude with a breakdown of THE YOUNG GIRLS WHO BATTLED AND REPRESENTED CLARION AREA WITH CLASS AND PRIDE over the past 3 months.
SEVENTH GRADERS:
ALLI STIVANSON – Alli was a hard worker and did a nice job of always being in the right position on the defensive end of the floor. She was a good and consistent rebounder for Clarion this year.
KATE MURTHA – Kate was a girl who gave 100 percent all of the time. She is a tenacious defender and a good rebounder and had a solid second half of the season. She missed most of the first half of the season with a concussion.
AVA KISER – Ava did a nice job of running the point guard position for the 7th grade team. Ave was kind of thrown into that season, having never played it before, and worked and continued to improve her ball handling skills over the course of the season.
KATE HEINEN – Kate did a nice job at the second guard position. Kate’s ball handling skills improved as well over the year and did a nice job of hitting outside jump shots from the corner.
ANNA HAZLETT – Hannah was one of the better rebounders on the team this year. She has a tremendous work ethic and works hard at both ends of the floor. Hannah did a nice job of scoring in the low post.
EMILY GRABIAK – Emily’s quickness is one of her greatest attributes and played aggressive defense on a consistent basis. Emily worked hard on her ball handling skills and was able to run the point guard position for the 7th grade team.
ANGEL DUNKEL – Angel was a first time player who came to practice everyday and worked hard and improved greatly over the season. Always with a smile on her face, Angel was a solid defender and a team favorite.
BRENNAH COPENHAVER – Brennah was asked to play several different positions this year and did so effectively. She was a hard working defender who did nice job of boxing out and rebounding for the team.
SARAH CLARK – When I think of Sarah, I think of two words – tenacious defender. She was constantly given the task of hounding the opponent’s point guard and did it effectively. You could see the frustration on the other team’s player’s faces as Sarah tracked them all over the court.
AVA CHERICO – Ava did a tremendous job of running the point for the 7th grade team and the off guard position for the 8th grade team. Ava was a ball hawk who used her quickness to steal the basketball and set up offensive opportunities. Ava was a consistent offensive threat for the Cats.
MARIA BRADLEY – Maria was always in the right spot at the right time. If we worked on something at practice, I knew when it came game time Maria would execute what we worked on. She was a good rebounder and did a nice job of scoring in the low post.
And now my EIGHTH GRADERS:
KYARA GIRVAN – KK used her athleticism to her advantage. She could defend guards who were quick or taller players who played on the inside. She would use her speed to create turnovers and turn them into offensive opportunities. She was a good rebounder because her legs were like a springboard and could out jump taller players. Her biggest improvement came at the offensive end this year and provided consistent scoring for the Lady Cats as she was the second leading scorer on the team.
KAITLYN CONSTANTINO – Having Kaitlyn on the floor at the point guard position is like having another coach out on the court. She knows where everyone is suppose to be and makes sure they get there and has good basketball intelligence. Kaitlyn is one of the most unselfish players I have ever coached, always looking to get her teammates involved in the offense and making the extra pass. She was our leading scorer this year and led the team with assists. I am proud of her as her coach, but more so as her father.
I would like to thank a number of people to help make this season a success. I would like to thank my partner in crime, COACH BEVEVINO. I have enjoyed working with Patty over the past three seasons. She does a great job of working with the girls and keeping me grounded at the same time. Her knowledge of the game has been invaluable to the girls and me.
I would like to thank OUR WONDERFUL PARENTS They have been extremely supportive and been at the games to cheer on their daughters and the team. THEY HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB OF RAISING YOUNG LADIES THAT I HAVE ABSOLUTELY LOVED COACHING.
I also would like to thank MY WIFE, KIM, who has had to deal with me being away for the past three months. I APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT AND HELP SHE GIVES TO ME DURING THE SEASON.
Finally, I would like to thank Dave McClaine for the tremendous job he does of supporting and promoting the young athletes in this area. Our daughters are fortunate to have Dave and his website provide coverage for our team so that family and friends both near and far can read about the games.
(AND THANK YOU TO THE CONSTANTINO’S, BEVEVINO’S AND ALL THE COACHES WHO WORK TIRELESSLY WITH THE YOUNG STUDENT ATHLETES AND FOR THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTE ARTICLES AND PHOTOS TO THIS WEBSITE. YOU ARE WHAT MAKES CLARION SPORTS ZONE SUCCESSFUL!!!! GREAT JOB LADY CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)